1969 Fender Jazz - refin?

[Berniebear]

Hey guys and gals,

I have a 68/69 Fender Jazz that I'd appreciate your help with.

The neck stamp, electrics all confirm the year. However, the finish is confusing me.

I'm pretty sure it's not the original finish but I'd love to hear from you to confirm (or otherwise) this.

Basically it is white but the paint is completely mat.
Underneath the pickups etc. is also white.
Could it really be original and have completely lost it's lacquer over the years or is it just a bad refin? If the latter then I'm tempted to have it stripped and refinished.


I'm looking forward to hearing from you

 

[FenderOli]

Stripped and refinished.

 

[Berniebear]

Actually, even with my not-so-young-anymore eyes I'm 98% sure it's a bad refin.
E.g. There is paint on the grounding wire.

 

[mikeswals]

that is a bad refin

 

[LeFunk Machine]

Baddd refinishhh

 

[TomB]

Nothing like original - not even close.

 

[nivagues]

It's a refin. Even the ground wire under the bridge is painted white.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

I would have no issue what so ever in refinishing that.
That PG would look fine with a 3TSB.

 

[Ghastly]

Refinish!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hey guys and gals,

I have a 68/69 Fender Jazz that I'd appreciate your help with.

The neck stamp, electrics all confirm the year. However, the finish is confusing me.

I'm pretty sure it's not the original finish but I'd love to hear from you to confirm (or otherwise) this.

Basically it is white but the paint is completely mat.
Underneath the pickups etc. is also white.
Could it really be original and have completely lost it's lacquer over the years or is it just a bad refin? If the latter then I'm tempted to have it stripped and refinished.


I'm looking forward to hearing from you

Looks like primer

 

[Acoop]

Refinish, I'm pretty sure there'd be a paint stick in the neck cavity if it was factory. ... And that pretty pickguard looks more Spitfire than Fender. ... When you strip that house paint off her you might come across traces of her original colour in the pickup and control cavity.

 

[jdthebassman]

Refin, I would send it to the fender custom shop and have a period correct finish done to match the neck.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

And that pretty pickguard looks more Spitfire than Fender. ...

I think that may actually be a real Fender guard. Spitfire guards have a very “swirly” pattern

 

[WI Short Scaler]

So now that it's been pretty universally confirmed as a refin, you're free to do the finish any way you want without having to worry about that pesky "affects the value" argument.

 

[roycroft_88]

Very cool bass you have. Agreed,it's a poor refinish that looks like Bins primer but at least it's honest wear. That bass was someones workhorse that was ridden hard and put away wet. Remember, it's only original once and that ship sailed long long ago. It's your bass now, you can make it what you want and add to it's history. I like it the way it is, the paint reminds me of how we did things as kids and learned along the way.

 

[TomB]

Nothing like original - not even close.

...which is not a criticism. Play the heck out of it. Refinish it if you feel like it. It’s definitely a ‘69. Enjoy!